NFXD: Mooer Black Truck Multi-Effects Pedal
Jun 26, 2019 5:09:13 GMT
leoroberts, bleatoid, and 1 more like this
Post by grayn on Jun 26, 2019 5:09:13 GMT
I've been a single stomp boxes player for some time, although I have delved into multi-effects units, every now and then.
But mostly, I have found them too fiddly, even the ones that are all knobs and no menus.
But I have been aware for a while, that are some companies that have produced units that effectively a selection of stomp boxes put together.
Negating the need for mutliple jack leads and special power supplies.
The Carl Martin models look good but are fairly restricted and quite pricey.
The Chinese company Mooer have 2 very reasonably priced units, the Red Truck and the Black Truck.
The Black truck is the slightly updated model and has 6 footswitches.
Which operate, from right to left, Overdrive, Hi-Gain, Graphic EQ, Modulation, Delay/Reverb and Tap/Tuner.
I have only had a couple of hours with it so far but these are my opinions.
I played my Fender Original Series 50s Telecaster into a clean sound on my amp.
The Overdrive goes from very mild to heavyish crunch, having the usual volume, tone and gain controls.
Not bad actually.
It's not quite there with a valve amp but it's pretty usable, to add a bit of raunchiness to your clean tone.
The Hi-Gain is bloody brilliant.
My preferred stomp box for Hi-Gain was the Blackstar HT-Dual and I've tried a ton of others.
But that only really suited humbucking pickups.
The Hi-Gain on this unit was designed specifically for it and it sounds fantastic cranked up, even with single coil pickups.
I've never heard my Tele sound so metal, doing squeals and deep chugging rhythms brilliantly.
Apart from the usual controls, you also get a mid boost switch, which I didn't need and a noise gate switch that works a treat.
The Graphic has a 5-band EQ plus a level slider.
It works as a brilliant boost pedal as well as all the tonal oppertunities, I'll probably not use.
The Modulation pedal basically has 3 separate choices of flanger, tremolo or phaser, with the usual timing and intensity controls, plus tap speed and subdivisions of that.
All 3 are adequate but nothing spectacular.
But TBH, I'm not a great fan of modulation effects, so haven't spent that much time on this sectiom.
I'll probably use the Tremolo the most.
The Delay/Reverb pedal is something I wil use a lot.
You can set it to have either delay or reverb or both together.
The delay is pretty useable and I'l lmostly have it set to a single slap back echo, which it does well.
The reverb is not as good as the one on my amp but if set properly, could be useful, if not spectacular.
I've often found that built in tuners, on FX devices or amps, are a bit naff but this one seems accurate, so a big thumbs up for that, Mooer.
Also the tap switch seems to do it's job.
So overall then, a pretty good bunch of effects.
Some better than others, as you'd expect.
This unit feels really solid, the footswitches are also strong and smooth in use.
I also like the way that when activated, each pedal lights up, including the control knobs, which looks cool and is easier to see in dark conditions.
The build quality does seem very good indeed.
Oh yes, you also get a Compression section, that is not footswtchable.
It's not something I use, so can't comment on it.
Connections are good, with stereo outputs, if needed, with return and send loop sockets, plus a headphone output with a level control.
All that and a smart little carry case.
The Black Truck seems excellent value to me and in my quest to make things simple, it's a real boon.
But mostly, I have found them too fiddly, even the ones that are all knobs and no menus.
But I have been aware for a while, that are some companies that have produced units that effectively a selection of stomp boxes put together.
Negating the need for mutliple jack leads and special power supplies.
The Carl Martin models look good but are fairly restricted and quite pricey.
The Chinese company Mooer have 2 very reasonably priced units, the Red Truck and the Black Truck.
The Black truck is the slightly updated model and has 6 footswitches.
Which operate, from right to left, Overdrive, Hi-Gain, Graphic EQ, Modulation, Delay/Reverb and Tap/Tuner.
I have only had a couple of hours with it so far but these are my opinions.
I played my Fender Original Series 50s Telecaster into a clean sound on my amp.
The Overdrive goes from very mild to heavyish crunch, having the usual volume, tone and gain controls.
Not bad actually.
It's not quite there with a valve amp but it's pretty usable, to add a bit of raunchiness to your clean tone.
The Hi-Gain is bloody brilliant.
My preferred stomp box for Hi-Gain was the Blackstar HT-Dual and I've tried a ton of others.
But that only really suited humbucking pickups.
The Hi-Gain on this unit was designed specifically for it and it sounds fantastic cranked up, even with single coil pickups.
I've never heard my Tele sound so metal, doing squeals and deep chugging rhythms brilliantly.
Apart from the usual controls, you also get a mid boost switch, which I didn't need and a noise gate switch that works a treat.
The Graphic has a 5-band EQ plus a level slider.
It works as a brilliant boost pedal as well as all the tonal oppertunities, I'll probably not use.
The Modulation pedal basically has 3 separate choices of flanger, tremolo or phaser, with the usual timing and intensity controls, plus tap speed and subdivisions of that.
All 3 are adequate but nothing spectacular.
But TBH, I'm not a great fan of modulation effects, so haven't spent that much time on this sectiom.
I'll probably use the Tremolo the most.
The Delay/Reverb pedal is something I wil use a lot.
You can set it to have either delay or reverb or both together.
The delay is pretty useable and I'l lmostly have it set to a single slap back echo, which it does well.
The reverb is not as good as the one on my amp but if set properly, could be useful, if not spectacular.
I've often found that built in tuners, on FX devices or amps, are a bit naff but this one seems accurate, so a big thumbs up for that, Mooer.
Also the tap switch seems to do it's job.
So overall then, a pretty good bunch of effects.
Some better than others, as you'd expect.
This unit feels really solid, the footswitches are also strong and smooth in use.
I also like the way that when activated, each pedal lights up, including the control knobs, which looks cool and is easier to see in dark conditions.
The build quality does seem very good indeed.
Oh yes, you also get a Compression section, that is not footswtchable.
It's not something I use, so can't comment on it.
Connections are good, with stereo outputs, if needed, with return and send loop sockets, plus a headphone output with a level control.
All that and a smart little carry case.
The Black Truck seems excellent value to me and in my quest to make things simple, it's a real boon.